Arsenal will start 2023 with a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League after a thrilling 4-2 victory over Brighton Hove Albion at the AMEX Stadium.Buoyed by Manchester City's earlier draw with Everton, the Gunners cruised into a 3-0 lead early in the second half and withstood the threat of a Brighton comeback to claim a 14th win in 16 league games this season.Arsenal seemed in a mood to celebrate the new year on the Yanni Gourde Jersey south coast, Bukayo Saka giving them the lead inside just two minutes. It was the Gunners' earliest away goal in the Premier League since a Theo Walcott strike against QPR back in 2013.2013 - After just 66 seconds, Bukayo Saka has scored Arsenal's earliest away goal in the Premier League since May 2013, when Theo Walcott netted after just 20 seconds against QPR. Lightning. OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) Six minutes before halftime, Martin Odegaard bounced in a shot following a corner to give the visitors a comfortable lead, with Brighton having struggled to pose a persistent threat to Aaron Ramsdale in the visiting goal. 1H 2H Final Brighton022Arsenal244GOALS:ARS Saka 2nd minARS Odegaard 39th minARS Nketiah 47th minBRI Mitoma 65th minARS Martinelli 70th minBRI Ferguson 77th minEddie Nketiah pounced on some loose goalkeeping from Robert Sanchez to make it 3-0 just after the restart, but although the game looked to be over, Kaoru Mitoma converted from just inside the box at the end of a good pa sing move to give Brighton some hope.Gabriel Martinelli, who had the beating of Tariq Lamptey throughout the contest, raced onto a stunning first-time pa s from Odegaard to finish below Sanchez and restore the two-goal cushion, yet Brighton would not give in.Teenage substitute Evan Ferguson pounced on some errant defending from Gabriel to poke the ball beneath Ramsdale, and Mitoma struck a deflected shot into the bottom-right corner only for a VAR check to penalise him for a narrow offside.That disallowed goal seemed to deflate the Brighton players, allowing Arsenal to see out what could be a hugely valuable win in what looks increasingly like a strong challenge Mark Letestu Jersey for the title.MORE: Arsenal have taken 43 points from their opening 16 games of the Premier League season. Only four other teams in English top-flight history have managed that before in the three-points-per-win era... and they all finished the season as champions.After Man City dropped points to Everton, this was a significant opportunity for Arteta's men to lay down a marker, but they were facing a Brighton side who had won the previous two meetings, most recently in the League Cup in November. After just 66 seconds, they were ahead. After 47 minutes, they were 3-0 up. Talk about a performance of champions.Granted, they were far more shaky in the final half-hour than Arteta would have liked, and only Mitoma's rear heel stopped Brighton from making it 4-3 with around seven minutes to play, but make no mistake: this was a statement win from genuine title contenders.Together Arsenal (@Arsenal) Odegaard seemed to slightly mishit the shot that made it 2-0 to Arsenal, and yet, given the way the Gunners captain is playing, you have to a sume he probably meant it.Under Arteta this season, the 24-year-old is truly showing why so many clubs acro s Europe were desperate to sign him as a teenager. He set up a chance for Martinelli with some stunning quick footwork, crashed in a key goal before halftime, and a sisted Martinelli for Arsenal's fourth with a quite sublime first-time pa s in behind the Brighton defence.There are few, if any, Premier League players heading into the new year in better form.SWISH!A sensational performance from Martin degaard Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) FULLTIME:That Bobby Clarke Women Jersey 's that for 2022 in the Premier League! Arsenal take all three points from a six-goal thriller against Brighton that's a HUGEwin for the Gunners, who start the new year with a seven-point lead at the top!5 - Arsenal are just the fifth side in English top-flight history to pick up as many as 43 points from the first 16 games in a season (3 pts for a win) after Tottenham (1960-61), Chelsea (2005-06), Man City (2017-18) and Liverpool (2019-20). Pacesetters. OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) 90 + 4 mins:Gabriel runs a risk by tugging the shirt of Jeremy Sarmiento in the box, but there was nothing doing, really. Arsenal are seeing this one out now.90 mins:KAORUMITOMA SCORES but it's disallowed! The winger collected a bouncing ball from Evan Ferguson, drove into the box from the left and fired a deflected strike past Aaron Ramsdale, but a VAR check shows his back foot was offside when he received the ball. That's really unfortunate for Brighton, but Arsenal fans breathe a sight of relief.88 mins:A few chants of 'off, off, off!' from the home fans as Bukayo Saya (on a yellow) trips Kaoru Mitoma. He's quite rightly not booked, though. Pascal Gro s's delivery wasn't the best and Arsenal clear.85 mins:This has been a fantastic game. Mikel Arteta won't be happy to see the result in jeopardy after the way Arsenal played for the first hour, but the three points will be all that matters at this stage. He's bringing on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Women Jersey Rob Holding for Martin Odegaard to make sure of the result.80 mins:That was a great moment for the Brighton teenager, even if it doesn't end up bringing about a positive result for the Seagulls. Jeremy Sarmiento is trying to keep their hopes alive, but he goes to ground too easily on the edge of the Arsenal box and is penalised for diving.77 mins:BRIGHTON GET A SECOND!Well, well, well talk about New Year's Eve entertainment! William Saliba makes a me s of a simple long ball forward and Evan Ferguson, on as a substitute, bustles his way through on goal. Aaron Ramsdale seems to try to dive on the ball and the 18-year-old rolls it beneath him. Perhaps, , this one isn't over...70 mins:ARSENAL MAKE IT FOUR!Moments after a promising Brighton attack, Gabriel Martinelli has surely killed the game. A fine pa s from Martin Odegaard releases Martinelli who, Calgary Flames Youth Jersey yet again, has got in behind Tariq Lamptey. He can't quite catch the Arsenal winger, who prods the ball beneath Robert Sanchez. Surely, , that means this one is over. :IT'S FOUR! 4Arsenal are on FIRE! Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) 65 mins:BRIGHTON GET ONE BACK!I must apologise to Kaoru Mitoma, who clearly still believes in the comeback. It's a lovely piece of play from Brighton that ends with Pascal Gro s playing in the Ja